The Pixy shows what is possible if you off load the complex task of video processing when it comes to vision processing. The kickstarter is already successful so we can already think of this as a product. I think this will change many of the portable projects that we see next year.
Thanks to Rich LeGrand for the tip.
 “Pixy is a small camera about half the size of a business card that can detect objects that you “train†it to detect. Its creators, Carnegie Mellon University and a small Austin-based company, Charmed labs are “giving it all away” so to speak — the source code, the schematics, board layout — everything. It’s generating significant interest in the robotics and maker communities, raising over 400% of it’s Kickstarter funding goal with weeks still remaining. The Kickstarter campaign began on August 15 and ends September 14, 2013.
Pixy is the latest version of the CMUcam, a popular line of vision sensors. The goal of Pixy is to provide a smart camera sensor that is easy to use and priced low enough, so that it can be used by a wider audience, including educators and hobbyists that currently use microcontrollers such as the popular Arduino. Pixy can connect directly to the Arduino with a simple cable. Since Pixy has its own processor, it does not bog down the Arduino’s CPU with processing images. And since Pixy has several communication options, it can talk to practically any microcontroller, or even simple devices such as relays, servos or lights. “